Escapement mechanism for type-writers.



No. 727,340. PATENTED'MAY 5, 1903. W. R. POX & G. J. BARRETT.

ESGAPEMENT MECHANISM FOR TYPE WRITERS. APPLICATION TILED 06w. 1, 1898.

no MODEL.

Glen fli'iew jam, gs

UNirnD STATES Patented May 5, 1903,

PATENT OFFICE.

IVILLIAM R. FOX AND GLENN J. BARRETT, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHI- GAN, ASSIGNORS TO THE FOX MACHINE COMPANY, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM FOR TYPE-WRITERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 727,340, dated May 5, 1903.

Application filed October 1,1898. Serial No. 692,400. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM R. FOX and GLENN J. BARRETT, citizens of the United States, residing at Grand Rapids, Kent county, Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Escapement Mechanism for Type-Writers, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to escapement mechanism for type-writers; and the object thereof is to provide mechanisms located between the keys and the escapement, by means of which the feeding of the carriage may be changed in relation to the movement of the keys by changing the relation of the members of the escapement mechanism.

To this end the invention includes an attachment interposed between the keys and the escapement mechanism, where said mechanism comprises a toothed member, such as afeed rack or wheel, and a pawl and detent engaging therewith for holding either the pawl or the detent normally into engagement with the said toothed member.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1 and 2 show the invention as ap plied to one form of escapement mechanism,

such as is used on the Fox type-writer. Fig. 3 illustrates the invention as applied to a different form of escapement, such as is used on the Remington type-writer. Figs. 4:, 5, and 6 illustrate the invention as applied to another form of escapement, such as is used on the Smith Premier. Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views.

In type-writer escapements as generally constructed the feed of the paper-carriage takes place as the finger-key attains about one-half of its upstroke, and in rapid writing, as one key is very often depressed before the return of the preceding key, the carriage feeds too late to avoid the characters printing one upon the other.

The present invention provides means for actuating the escapement, so as to permit the carriage to feed forwardly upon the downward stroke of the keys, thus giving the carriage more time between the operation of the keys in which to shift. In slow or ordinary writing the type strikes the platen at substantially the same moment that a key reaches before the key attains its full downward stroke, so that the printing is completed before the carriage is released. It is therefore necessary that means be provided for actuating the escapement mechanism either upon the downward or upward stroke of the key to provide for ordinary or for rapid writing.

The escapement mechanism in common use comprises a toothed member, such as a rack or wheel, and a detent and pawl adapted to engage the same. As usually constructed the pawl is normally in engagement with the toothed member and prevents the carriage from moving under the pull of the spring or the like, which exerts a constant te'nsionthereon. Upon the depression of a key in its downward movement the pawl is freed from the toothed member and the detent engaged therewith before the carriage can shift, and then upon the upward movement of the key the detent is freed and the pawl reengaged, the feed of the carriage taking place at this time.' As will be noted, in this mode of operation the feed of the carriage takes place only upon the return engagement of the pawl and toothed member or at the time the key is making its upstroke.

To secure the feed of the carriage upon the downstroke of the key, the relation between the pawl and detent and the toothed'mem ber is reversed and the detent becomes the member of the escapement mechanism which normally engages the toothed member and prevents the carriage movement while the pawl only has an intermittent engagement therewith. With this arrangement of the parts upon the downward stroke of the keys the detent is freed and the pawl engaged with the toothed member, the carriage feeding forward at this time, being held at the end of each step by said pawl until the key tent rengaged without permitting any movement of the carriage.

The present invention provides for applying this principle of having either the pawl or the detent the member of the escapement which normally engages the toothed member, so that the carriage-feed may be secured upon either stroke of the keys to most of the wellknown forms of escapement mechanisms.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, which illustrate a portion of atype-writer, the rear of the carriage is shown at 1, mounted upon the track 2, carried by the type-writer frame 2. A horizontal plate 3, screwed to the face of the rear bar of the carriage and extending rearward therefrom, carries a pawl 3 and detent 4, which are adapted to engage a rack-bar 5, mounted upon a rocking shaft 6, journaled at each end in lugs 7, projecting from the frame 2. The keys are carried by the keybars 8, only one being shown, which pass across the face of the universal bar 9, that is linked to a pivotal arm 10; To the end of this arm one end of a spring 11 is attached, the other end of which is attached to the end of an arm 12, intermediately pivoted in a'lug '13, depending from the frame 2. A thumbscrew 14 bears upon the rear end of this arm to determine its position, which varies the tension on the spring 11, which tends to draw up on the arm 10, the movement of whichis limited by an adjustable screw 15. A triangular-shaped plate 16, fixed at its apex to the rock-shaft 6, depends therefrom and is provided with a slot 17, running parallel with its base, which terminates at each end in circular openings 18 19. A link 20, pivoted at its lower end to the arm 10, is provided with a bifurcated cap 21 atits upper end, the members of which embrace the sides of the plate 16. The front member of the cap carries a housing 22, which confines a coil-spring that presses upon the head of a pin 23 to hold the same in one of the openings 18 19. This pin is provided with an enlarged head outside of the housing, by means of which it may be retracted against the tension of the spring to draw the enlarged part thereof out of the openings, so that it maybe shifted. The pin is also provided with a reduced stem that passes through an opening in the rear member of the cap. When the enlarged portion of the pin is within the opening 18; the rackbar is held normally into engagement with the pawl and the escapement mechanism is set for ordinary writing. By withdrawing the enlarged portion of the pin from the opening 18 and sliding the cap across the plate 16 until the pin engages the opening 19 the rack-bar will be tilted to bring the same normally into engagement with the detent, and then the escapement mechanism is set for rapid writing. It will be noticed that the pivotal point of the lower end'of the link 20 is to one side of the center of the plate 16, so that the distance between said point and the hole 18 will be greater than the distance between said point and the hole 19, which will tilt the rack out of the perpendicular when the link engages the latter hole and is in normal position.

In Fig. 3 the invention is illustrated as applied to another form of escapement mechanism in which a toothed wheel mounted upon a horizontal bearing is engaged by a pawl and detent secured to a vertical carrier which rocks in a vertical plane. The toothed wheel is shown as engaged by the pawl 17, which, together with the detent c, is carried by the plate d, pivoted at e and having a horizontal slot 9 therein, the ends of which terminate in enlarged circular openingsmn. The link 0, operated from the keys, is adapted to engage with the opening m as in the former case when the escapement is to be set for ordinary writing and with the opening n when it is to be set for rapid work.

In Figs. 4:, 5, and 6 another form of escapement is shown having the invention applied thereto. In this form the rock-shaft 7, which carries the pawl and detent, has a plate 8 fixed thereto, which extends upon opposite sides of the same and is provided with diametrically arranged openings 15 16. Below the plate is the oscillating grating X, operated from the keys, which is provided with openings, one of which is alined with the opening i when the escapement is set for ordinary work and the other of which is alined with opening 'u, when the escapement is set for rapid work. Above the plate 3 is an arm 0), pivoted on the rock-shaft 7 and carrying a housing inclosing a spring-pin that is designed to pass through the alining opening in the plate 8 and grating to lock the same together and rock the shaft 7 as the grating is oscillated. When the pin passes through the opening 25 and the alining opening in the grating, the escapement is set for ordinary work, as the pawl is in normal engagement with the toothed member. To set the escapement for rapid work, the arm 1; is swung around to bring the pininto engagementwith the opening a and the alining opening in the grating.

The plate 16, referred to in connection with the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the plate d, referred to in describing the form shown in Fig. 3, and the plate 8, referred to in connection with the form shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, act as controllers for the escapement mechanism, and in the claims we may refer to said parts as the controlling member.

We claim 1. The combination with a carriage under tension, and an escapement comprising a rack and a pawl and detent, one of said escapement members having an oscillating movement, keys and key-bars, and means actuated by the latter and shiftable parallel with the movement of the oscillating part of the ICO escapement to change its point of connection thereto, and means for connecting said shiftable means to the oscillating part of the es capement, substantially as described.

2. In combination, the carriage under tension, the escapement, a rocking controlling member, the keys and means interposed between the keys and said member, said means having a connection with said member, shiftable across the face of the same, to permit the carriage-feed upon either the up or down stroke of said keys,substantially as described.

3. In combination, the carriage under tension, the escapement, a rocking controlling member, the keys having connections to said member for operating the same and a.shifting member in said connections adapted to be shifted across the face of the controller to engage the same at difierent points for changing the relative position of the members comprising said escapement, substantially as described.

4. In combination, the carriage under tension, the escapement, the controlling member having a slot therein, the keys having connections to said member and a spring-pin carried by said connections adapted to engage said slot to provide for shifting the point of engagement between said member and said connections, substantially as described.

5. In combination, the carriage under tension, the escapement, a pivoted member controlling said escapement, the keys, means interposed between the keys and the pivoted member controlling the escapement for actuating the same includinga pivoted link, said controlling member having a slot therein concentric with the pivot of said link, and a device carried by the free end of the link ongaging and shiftable in the slot, substantially as described.

6. In combination, the carriage under tension, the escapement, a pivoted member controlling said escapement, the keys, mechanism interposed between the keys and the pivoted member for actuating said escapement on a depression of a key, and a shiftable connection below the pivotal point of said member between the same and said interposed mechanism, substantially as described.

7. In combination, the carriage under tension, the escapement, a pivotal member controlling said escapement, the keys, interposed mechanism between the same and the pivotal member, and a shiftable connection between said interposed mechanism and said pivotal member, said member having a guide for said connection, substantially as described.

8. In combination, the carriage under tension, the escapement, a pivotal member con trolling said escapement, the keys, interposed mechanism between the same and the pivotal member, and a shiftable connection between said interposed mechanism and said pivotal member, said member having a slot therein to guide said connection, substantially as described.

9. In combination, the carriage under tension, the escapement, the pivoted controlling member therefor, the keys, the interposed connection between the same and said controlling member including upper and lower links having a shiftable connection therewith,and a pivoted arm connecting said links, the link connected to said controlling member being connected to said arm to one side of the pivotal point of said member, substantially as described.

10. In combination, the carriage under tension, the escapement, the pivoted controlling member therefor, the keys, the upper and lower links interposed between the keys and the controlling member, the pivoted arm connecting the links,the upper link being adapted to be connected at its upper end to the controlling member at points thereon equidistant on each side of the pivotal-point of the same and its lower end being connected to said arm to one side of the pivotal point of the member, substantially as described.

11. In an escapement mechanism, the combination with a carriage and escapement means comprising a rack anda pawl and detent, one of said parts having an oscillating movement, a controller having a corresponding movement, key-bars and a connection from the latter to the controller having its upper end adjustably connected thereto and capable of shifting in relation to said controller and in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the same, substantially as described.

12. In a type-writing machine, the combination of a carriage, a feed-rack therefoiga suitable feed-dog carried by the carriage and cooperating with said feed-rack, one of said last-named parts being mounted to move laterally with relation to the other, means for moving said movable part and means for adjusting said moving means to change the direction of throw of said movable part and thereby vary the feed action of the machine.

13. In a type-writing machine, the combination of a carriage, a feed-rack therefor'carried by the frame of the machine, a suitable feed-dog carried by the carriage and cooperating with the feed-rack, said feed-rackbeing mounted to move laterally with relation to the feed-dog, means for moving said rack and means for adjusting the said moving means to change the direction of throw of said feedrack and thereby vary the feed action of the machine.

In testimon whereof we affix our si na- 

